USS Investment Management Ltd Grows Holdings in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

USS Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO - Free Report) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,104,114 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 23,208 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $68,770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hoey Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Coca-Cola by 41.9% during the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KO traded down $0.72 during trading on Thursday, hitting $71.13. The company had a trading volume of 11,085,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,689,338. The firm has a market capitalization of $306.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.47. The Coca-Cola Company has a fifty-two week low of $60.62 and a fifty-two week high of $74.38. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 45.37%. Coca-Cola's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Coca-Cola Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. Coca-Cola's payout ratio is presently 81.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coca-Cola news, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 54,708 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.96, for a total transaction of $3,882,079.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 246,909 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,520,662.64. The trade was a 18.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 60,326 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.87, for a total transaction of $4,335,629.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 187,716 shares in the company, valued at $13,491,148.92. This trade represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 462,407 shares of company stock worth $32,990,056. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.59.

Coca-Cola Profile

The Coca-Cola Company, a beverage company, manufactures, markets, and sells various nonalcoholic beverages worldwide. The company provides sparkling soft drinks, sparkling flavors; water, sports, coffee, and tea; juice, value-added dairy, and plant-based beverages; and other beverages. It also offers beverage concentrates and syrups, as well as fountain syrups to fountain retailers, such as restaurants and convenience stores.